Gearbox

Gearboxes modify the ratio of speed to torque of transmitted power. They can be created with 5 different materials (wood, stone, steel, diamond, and bedrock) and 4 different ratio settings (2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and 16:1).

Contents

"Gearboxes are used to change the ratio of torque to speed, while keeping the power constant. They come in 4 ratios - 2:1, 4:1, 8:1, and 16:1, and will affect the torque and speed accordingly. Reduction gears increase the torque and decrease the speed; acceleration gears do the opposite. Be warned: these need to be lubricated to work at their full potential; most unlubricated gearboxes will gradually wear down, and reduce the transmitted torque accordingly."

With the exception of bedrock gearboxes (see note), unlubricated gearboxes will slowly take damage when transmitting power, causing a loss of torque output and subsequently power output. Gearboxes, except diamond ones, slowly consume lubricant at a speed dependent on the speed of the power they transmit. Higher gear ratios take damage at a faster rate, as do cheaper materials.

Note, in the more recent versions, wooden gearboxes no longer require nor accepts lubricant. Instead they are will take damage from accumulated temperature. See the temperature section.

Lubricant consumption is a function of two factors:

Better gear materials consume less lubricant per unit time, under a linear relationship

Higher input speeds lead to higher lubricant consumption, under a logarithmic relationship

To achieve larger modification ratios than 16:1 multiple gearboxes need to be chained (alternatively a CVT Unit may be used).

Gearboxes can be switched between torque and speed mode, while in torque mode the torque will be increased and the speed decreased according to the ratio, in speed mode the speed will be increased while the torque is decreased. The mode of the gearbox can be changed by shift+right clicking it with the Rotarycraft screwdriver.

Damaged gearboxes can be repaired by right-clicking on them with a gear of their material. This can sometimes require multiple gears.

Gearboxes will take on the temperature of the environment, this can negatively affect gearboxes made with certain materials.

If a gearbox who's damage or overheat temperature is placed in a location where the ambient temperature exceeds that of it's damage temperature, it will consistently take damage.
For example, this can be the case if the gearbox is placed too close to bedrock level, in a hot biome such as a desert or in nether/hell biomes.

See the table for the limits and conditions.

Speed (Rad/s) before heating

Damage temperature

Overheat temperature

Burns when overheated

Wood

0

90

120

Yes

Stone

8192

90

120

No

Steel

-

-

-

-

Diamond

-

-

-

-

Bedrock

-

-

-

-

If the gearbox receives a higher speed than listed then it's temperature will rise (and as of the current v3d version, not subside until the gearbox is disassembled) by one degree every 20 ticks.

Attaching a Cooling Fin to the gearbox (assuming the ambient temperature is lower than the damage temperature) will keep the gearbox from heating any further. Stone gearboxes will cool off back to ambient temperature if the input power is less than the listed value.

Gearboxes have the same limits as shafts of their type, a steel gearbox will break when connected to a Hydrokinetic Engine, or amping smaller engines up beyond what a steel shaft can take via steel gearboxes will break the gearbox.

Wood gearboxes are very vulnerable to explosions; bedrock ones are impervious.

In order to be disassembled, gearboxes need to be empty of lubricant, you can empty them using a bucket, though the lubricant will be lost.